Accept
The Rise of Chaos
Rating: *** 1/2
When Accept reunited with former TT
Quick lead singer Mark Tornillo in 2009, many fans didn’t think it would work.
Without original singer Udo Dirkscheider, it seemed as if this reunion was
pointless. Accept made those people eat
those words in 2010 with the release of Blood
of the Nations, the band’s first album with Tornillo. Much to the surprise
of many people, Blood of the Nations was
a great album and Tornillo was accepted as the band’s lead singer. The band
were able to follow this up with 2012’s Stalingrad
and 2014’s Blind Rage- both of which received
fairly positive reviews as well. The band’s latest album, The Rise of Chaos, is their fourth album with Tornillo. As much as
it pains me to say this, The Rise of
Chaos is just okay. Don’t get me wrong: the music on here is another brutal
onslaught heavy tunes delivered by the German metal band. Still, it feels like it’s missing something
that the three previous albums had. While the weakest of the four Tornillo
albums, The Rise of Chaos still
manages to have some decent tunes.
While not up to
par with the previous openers, “Die by the Sword” is still a decent tune: it
has a killer guitar riff and the lyrics are relevant to today- as they question
what has become of humanity. The title
track continues the apocalyptic theme (with the focus now on survival) while
the hard hitting “No Regrets” features some impressive drumming from
Christopher Williams. As far as the weaker songs go, there are two in
particular that stick out. The first of them is “Koolaid,” a song that (sadly) isn’t
about the flavored drink mix but instead a biographical song about Jim Jones
and the 1978 Jonestown massacre. While the story fits with the album’s theme,
it’s hard to take seriously when you hear the chorus of “Don’t drink the
Koolaid.” The second clunker is “Analog
Man,” an anthem for the generation who can’t buy into today’s technology. The
lyrics are extremely cringe-worthy, with Tornillo sings such lyrics as “My cell
phone is smart than me” and “Don’t need no Wi-Fi/Just want my Hi-Fi.” The last
few songs, however, balance the album out. “Worlds Colliding” is pleasantly melodic
while “Carry the Weight” just might be my favorite song from the album lyrically.
“Don’t carry the weight of world on your shoulders” warns Tornillo, as he sings
about the world as it stands today- with mentions of global warming, bombings
and earthquakes.
Overall, The Rise of Chaos is a very average
album from Accept. If this review is too short for any reason, it’s because I
don’t think there’s anything here to review. It isn’t a bad album but then
again, it isn’t a classic. It’s just another album from Accept and that’s all. It’s
worth at a listen at least. Personally, I don’t see myself coming back to this
album all that much.
